Life goes on
by WolfintheSheep
Summary: Four friends from the past. Two now weave their trails in the sky, but in the life that was left behind two continue on. This is their story. Arisa/Suzuka
1. Chapter 1

The gentle sunset touched his face, illuminating his handsome features with a dazzling glow. His sparkling eyes gazed fondly into hers as he leaned in closer, his hand rising slowly to her face. She gasped slightly in anticipation before his smooth skin lightly grazed her silk-like hair, softly caressing her locks. Closing her eyes and shuddering, she felt him move closer, whispering sweet honey words into her ears.

"Ever since I saw you I was entranced. Your very presence leaves my knees weak; your simplest words make my heart race. I couldn't stand a life that didn't include you. There's something I need to tell you…"

Her heart was pounding in her chest, his every word filling her soul.

"…WAKE UP!"

The girl was awoken unceremoniously as her bed covers were dragged from the mattress, carrying her with them. With a groan, she rolled back and forth, gradually untangling herself from the mess of sheets until she was finally free. Groggily rubbing her head, she slowly opening her eyes and looked up at whoever had decided to act as her alarm clock. She instantly regretted it, though, as she was met with a very irritated looking blonde who seemed convinced that glaring daggers could, in fact, kill.

"Suzuka! I knew it; you stayed up late reading those trashy romance novels again!"

**Life goes on  
**Chapter 1**  
**

The purple haired girl yawned deeply when she finally sat down at the table for breakfast. Arisa, looking slightly grumpy, slid a plate of toast and a cup of coffee in front of her. Even after waking it had still taken Suzuka several minutes before proper consciousness had settled in, and in that time Arisa had taken it upon herself to drag the sleepy girl up, dress her and shove her into the bathroom to get washed up. Needless to say, Suzuka wasn't much of a morning person.

"I was at a really good part, so I really wanted to keep reading…"

"I keep telling you, you shouldn't be staying up so late, it's bad for your health."

"I'm sorry."

She reached over to grab a jar of jam, only to be stopped halfway. Looking down, she sheepishly noticed the reddish jelly already spread on the bread, and glanced back at her friend, who was nibbling at her own breakfast and staring off to the side. Mornings like had become fairly routine for the girls, ever since they started living under the same roof a year and a half ago.

It didn't seem like very long ago when their final year at high school finally came to an end. Arisa had graduated top of the class, of course, and had easily passed her university entrance exams with flying colours – though not with the highest score, much to her dismay. Suzuka, to her credit, managed to pass all of her courses, and thankfully wasn't held back a year. However, with her outstanding sports achievements she was scouted by several universities and offered a number of acceptance scholarships. Choosing familiarity over prestige, she picked a local campus, and thus the childhood friends once again found themselves enrolled in the same school together, at Uminari University.

Arisa, being a headstrong young adult, believed she should have some independence and decided that she wanted move out and live on her own. Her parents strongly objected, of course, and the ensuing arguments lasted for days. Somehow or other Suzuka got mixed into the discussions, and eventually her parents as well. In the end, all parties came to an agreement: the two girls would be sharing a two bedroom apartment, the assumption being that as long as Suzuka was keeping Arisa under control nothing too catastrophic could happen. However, much to everyone's shock it was Arisa who ended up running the household, doing everything from cooking and cleaning to mothering Suzuka about her bedtime. Apparently somewhere in the week of debates she took the whole matter as a personal affront – and the fact that her parents would call every time they heard sirens only fueled it. By the time she stopped feeling insulted everything had already become habit.

Suzuka had adjusted well to her friend's new responsible attitude, at least. After the first all night reading session she quickly realized that having someone keeping track of the time for her was a necessity.

"What's so great about those books, anyway?" Arisa suddenly asked.

"They're beautiful stories! Finding love no matter where you are, bonds of the heart that can never be broken. It's poetic!"

"Hrmph, seems kinda corny to me."

"What? You don't believe in love at first sight?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Breaking beyond social boundaries to follow your heart?'

"Sounds pretty stupid."

"Friends realizing the feelings they've shared since childhood?"

"Way too fluffy to be real."

"Mou, Arisa's heart is so frigid."

"Is not! I just don't believe in stupid fairytales."

"Love isn't a fairytale!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. We should get going if we don't wanna be late."

The two grabbed their bags and left, still arguing as they locked their apartment up and walked off to the train station.

* * *

Arisa was idly spinning her pen in hand, staring at the ceiling as the droning voice continued on and on. She might have been an obsessive studier, but she still couldn't stand to sit through boring lectures. She'd already gone through this chapter a week ago on her own, but her professor managed to somehow drain the life out of every word that he spoke. Sighing for the tenth time that hour, the blonde dropped her head onto her desk and glanced around the lecture hall. About a third of the students were latching onto every word the professor spoke, though how they did that was a miracle. The large majority weren't paying attention in the slightest, choosing to doodle in clipboards, whisper to each other or send texts through the cellphones hidden under their desks. Then there were the few hiding in the back, using the time to catch up on precious sleep.

'_Wish Suzuka was here,'_ she thought to herself, not for the first time. Things always seemed more fun when her longtime friend was around, for some reason. Unfortunately, despite going to the same university they had enrolled into two completely different departments: herself into law and Suzuka into literature. It was inevitable, really, but even though she was in her second year Arisa still couldn't help but feel odd about not having the purple-haired girl in the same classes as her.

The sudden scraping of chairs made the blonde jump, and she realized that the lecture was finally over. Slipping her notes and utensils into her bag, she rose to her feet and walked from the hall as well.

'_Hmm, what to do now," _she mulled as she left,_ "Suzuka's practice doesn't end for a couple hours. Maybe I could go watch? Nah, maybe I could go and meet up with –"_

"Yo, Arisa!"

The girl turned as she heard a male voice calling out her name. She instantly recognized the short cropped black hair and thin glasses of her friend as he came closer.

"Yo, Taku!"

Yoshida Takumi, an education major in the same year as Arisa and Suzuka, and the first friend in the university that they'd made. It had been their first day on the campus and neither had a clue how to find their classes. Adding in a map that was disastrously ambiguous and they had a surefire recipe to getting hopelessly lost. During one of Arisa's many tirades about the terrible state of architectural design in the country Takumi stumbled across the two, and like any gentleman offered to guide them. Of course, he wasn't much better with the school's layout and the three ended up getting even more lost than they were before. In the end it was a security guard who managed to set them straight, and despite wasting several hours the girls had still come out of it with a new acquaintance.

"What's up?" Arisa asked as she slowed to match strides with her friend.

"A bunch of us were going to grab a bite to eat. You wanna come with?"

"Can't…I told Suzuka I'd meet her after practice."

"What? I thought she was going to be busy tonight."

"Where'd you hear that?" Arisa questioned, suddenly suspicious.

"I guess I misunderstood, then. Some guy in our Japanese course asked her out, and –"

"WHAT?!"

Several other students glanced their way, wondering what the sudden outburst was about. Takumi rubbed his ears a little; Arisa could be quite loud when she was properly motivated.

"Hey, it's not a big deal, this guy just – "

"What happened?! Was it a love letter? A confession? Did he ask to meet her at the back of the school?!"

"No, it wasn't – hey, hold it. What are you, a kid? He just walked up to her and asked her to dinner."

Arisa reddened slightly at the kid comment, but it didn't do anything to calm her down. With a frighteningly determined look on her face she performed a perfect about-face and marched back down the hallway.

"Come on! You're gonna help me find this guy."

"Hey, wait! What are you planning on doing?"

"Intervention!"

* * *

**A/N**: Yay for ArisaXSuzuka! Two characters that get ignored far too much, even though Arisa is so much fun to write.

And before anyone harps on me for it, Arisa being the brain and Suzuka the brawn is actually canon. Yeah, it surprised me too.


	2. Chapter 2

"Current status: one hour before critical deadline. Target has been sighted: Saito Kazuki, age nineteen, second year student. Estimated height: one-point-eight meters. Estimated weight: seventy-three kilograms. Heavily gelled blue hair, athletic build, seems to be good-looking; all evidence points to playboy. Threat rating increased to –"

"Arisa, what are you doing?"

"Reconnaissance! Now stop interrupting me, I'm gathering data!"

**Life goes on  
**Chapter 2

After telling her the name Arisa had bolted off like she was possessed, leaving Takumi to wonder if the university would soon be dealing with the aftermath of its first homicide. He'd hurried to catch up, hoping to prevent anything serious from happening, but when he finally found the girl spying from behind a potted plant like an amateur stalker he suddenly wished he could sever all connections with her. The target of her criminal intent was, of course, the second year student Saito Kazuki, who had dared to ask her best friend out. He had briefly considered backing away to avoid any involvement, but decided it would be better for the public interest if he at least tried to talk some sense into her.

"Do I even want to know how you're coming up with all of this?"

"Female intuition, of course. How else am I supposed to profile the target?"

"Most people would try talking to him first."

"And compromise my position?"

With a sigh, Takumi slumped to the ground beside the hyperactive blonde, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The girl had a stubborn streak a mile wide and it was nearly impossible to change her mind once she got going. Suzuka had a certain knack for swaying her, but Takumi had yet to master that skill, which was definitely a problem considering he was the only one who put serious effort into trying to stop her. He glanced back at Arisa, finding her still intently spying.

"I'm pretty sure Saito-san isn't a playboy. He was normal enough when he asked Suzuka out."

"It's gotta be an act. Is he a theater major?"

"How should I know? Why don't you just _ask_ him?"

"Way too risky."

Takumi slapped his palm to his forehead. By now passersby had taken noticed of Arisa, whose capacity for staying hidden seemed to be limited to one person at a time. He waved to the other students, a slightly exasperated look on his face, and they just laughed and kept walking.

"So what's Mr. Threat-to-All-Females doing now?"

"Conspiring with associates."

"…so he's chatting with friends?"

"That's what I said!"

"Right…"

Shaking his head, he slumped back down, realizing he wasn't making much progress. _'What's she getting so worked up for, anyway? I mean, it's just a date.'_

"You know, it's good to look out for your friend, but eventually you'll have to –"

"He's leaving! Quick, we need to follow him."

Cutting off Takumi's sagely advice, Arisa sprang up from behind the plant, taking chase after the unsuspecting classmate.

"- or you could just ignore me and keep up the super spy act."

Wearily he rose back to his feet, following after the blonde. For the next half-hour they followed Saito through the campus, Takumi long since giving up any attempts at reasoning and instead did his best to make sure security didn't get suspicious. Thankfully Arisa had decided that stalking from afar was the best course of action, for the time being, but as the minutes counted down her irritation was growing noticeably. Their latest stop was the cafeteria, where she had somehow procured a week old newspaper to glare over-top of. Suzuka's practice would be ending soon, and the blonde looked like she was ready to pounce the moment Saito made a move.

"So, Arisa, just what are you planning to do? I hope you still remember the things called _laws._"

The girl opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly leapt to her feet as she saw her target starting to walk from the cafeteria. With a rather murderous gleam in her eyes she took the first step forward – when an all-too familiar ringtone came from her cellphone, making her freeze in her tracks and stiffen considerably.

"Arisa, _please _tell me you checked to see if Suzuka actually agreed to go out with him."

Arisa turned her head slowly back to look back at Takumi, a meek expression on her face. Hesitantly she opened up her phone and brought it to her ear.

"Um, hi, Suzuka…Doing?...Uh, just hanging with Taku…Late?"

Checking the time, she noticed that the girl's practice had already ended twenty minutes ago.

"...Oh, well…Yeah, well I just thought you, uh, had a date…Turned him down?...Oh, uh…Yeah, no problem…"

A loud thud was heard as Takumi planted his forehead against the nearest wall.

"…So, we were just about to go get a bite to eat…"

* * *

"That's so adorable! Who knew you could be so cute, Arisa-chan."

"Shut it, Reika."

It was past ten at night, and Arisa found herself seated in a bar sandwiched in between the two people that absolutely refused to let anything she did be forgotten. Takumi was one thing; he'd lecture and generally state his disapproval, but for the most part he was civil about it. Her other friend, however, was an entirely different matter: Natsukawa Reika, a third year student and also Arisa's coworker at the restaurant where she worked weekends. Reika was a naturally wild and blunt individual, and with Arisa's own explosive personality the two were like peas in a pod, so they'd naturally hit it off the first time they met: both figuratively and physically. The punk-haired redhead was currently laughing hysterically as Takumi recounted the afternoon's adventure, tipping back in her chair as she held her stomach and nearly knocking over the dozen empty-glasses in front of her.

"I can't believe you didn't film this, Taku, I could've made a killing selling the video. Serious little Arisa-chan acting like a jealous schoolboy, it's absolutely priceless."

"I wasn't jealous!"

"No need to hide it, Arisa-chaaan," Reika said, reaching over to ruffle the blonde's hair.

Arisa glanced over her shoulder to the booth where Suzuka was sitting, chatting with a teammate. Thankfully the purple-haired girl was far enough away that she couldn't hear anything, saving Arisa from the embarrassment of having Reika spill the entire story to her best friend. She turned back around and shot a menacing glare at Takumi for opening his big mouth around the redhead. He answered with a smug look that said 'you asked for it'.

"Aw, and now I feel so bad for Suzuka-chan. She'll never have a boyfriend until she gets her little guard dog on a leash," Reika continued.

"I thought I told you to shut it!"

"I'm surprised you still have a clean criminal record," Takumi said, both jokingly and seriously, "I'd hate to see what happened to her other suitors."

Arisa slumped down in her chair and puffed her cheeks out childishly, irritated by the jokes at her expense. Reika slung her arm around the blonde's shoulder, laughing once again as she tried to picture the scenes.

"The poor girl, I can just imagine. Any date would be a nightmare with this girl following every step of the way."

Arisa pushed the redhead away from her, muttering as she did. "Suzuka hasn't gone on any dates before."

Reika and Takumi were immediately silenced, staring at Arisa as they both tried to figure out if she was kidding or not. When it became apparent that she was completely serious, they both suddenly shared the same blank, shocked expression, acting like the blonde had gone crazy…well, crazier.

"Are you serious?" Takumi finally asked.

"You've gotta be kidding!" Reika followed incredulously, "A girl like her should have tons of guys following after her."

"Well, she doesn't," Arisa replied, clueless about why the two were making such a big deal about this, "Maybe she just isn't interested –"

"Yeah right, the girl is obsessed with romance novels. She's definitely a girly-girl who still dreams about a prince charming, no doubt about it. Now _you_, on the other hand…"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!"

"Face it Arisa, you're a savage. Your chances at getting lucky are slim to none; anyone dating you would start sleeping with a baseball bat."

"You're not one to talk!"

"Me? I've got pure sex appeal; I don't need to be nice."

"Yeah right, maybe if you're trying to attract – "

"You know," Takumi cut in, "when I first met you two, I could've sworn Suzuka was already dating someone."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Arisa asked incredulously, thinking the boy had just said something extremely stupid.

"I dunno. She just gave this 'already taken' feeling."

"What kind of dumb feeling is that? You can't tell stuff like that just by looking."

"He's got a point," Reika said, looking somewhat thoughtful, "come to think of it, I got the same impression when I first met her."

"Now I know it's stupid, there's no way _you'd_ notice something like that."

"What? Come on, I'd totally hit that! I love the sweet, innocent girls; plus she's hot as hell."

"What?! Hey, don't you even think about –"

"Oh? My, little Arisa-chan's gonna start stalking me now. I always wanted a hottie for a shadow."

Reika doubled over in laughter again, probably imagining the girl trying to tail her. Arisa reddened in irritation, glaring at the redhead.

"Aw, chill out Arisa-chan. I'll keep my hands off your little girlfriend."

Arisa reddened even deeper, though for a slightly different reason this time. She opened her mouth to snipe back a retort, but nearly choked on her words as another voice drifted into the conversation.

"Whose girlfriend?" Suzuka asked in curiosity, having walked in at the very tail-end of the discussion, unbeknownst to any of the three. Takumi jumped slightly in surprise while Reika nearly fell back in her chair; neither had expected the purple-haired girl to appear so suddenly, especially at such an awkward moment. It seemed like she hadn't heard much though, which Arisa was immensely grateful for.

"W-what's up? Where'd your friend go?"

"Nana-chan left already, she has an early class. What were you talking about?"

"I-it's nothing, Reika's just drunk and talking nonsense."

The redhead opened her mouth, looking like she had every intention to continue her teasing. After seeing the panicked expression on Arisa's face, though, she tactfully decided to change gears.

"Drunk? Come on, I never get drunk!" Reika exclaimed, leaping to her feet in mock challenge. To her credit she managed to remain upright for a few seconds, but soon toppled over sideways, landing flatly on the floor.

"That's odd. When did the room get so spinny?"

"Is she okay?" Suzuka asked, peering down at the older girl on the floor. Takumi sighed loudly, and went to help the redhead to her feet.

"I'll get her home. See you two tomorrow," he said as he got Reika to her feet. As the two awkwardly stumbled out of the bar, Arisa swore she heard the boy murmur something that sounded a lot like 'nice save'.

* * *

"Do you think Takumi-kun got Reika-senpai home alright?" Suzuka asked as the girls entered their apartment.

"Yeah, I'm sure they're fine."

Suzuka yawned deeply as she was slipping her shoes off, and Arisa soon followed suit. It was nearly midnight already, and they both had classes in the morning. They spent the next few minutes quickly washing up before heading to their respective bedrooms.

"Night, Suzuka."

"Good night, Arisa."

The apartment was soon completely silent…until Arisa's door opened. She crossed the hall, stopping at her roommate's door before knocking loudly. From inside, Suzuka's voice sheepishly answered.

"Um…ten more minutes?


	3. Chapter 3

As her head submerged beneath the cool water the clamour around her was drowned out, only a distant murmur in the background. The silence seemed calming and peaceful, a brief lull from the tension that was racking her nerves and sending her thoughts into disarray, yet her body continued to move with well practiced forms. Gracefully and with pristine perfection she rolled her body forwards, feet pressing firmly against the wall as her legs tensed, before pushing off with all her might. She glided through the water for what seemed like an eternity in her head, aligning herself smoothly as she rose to the surface, and the tranquil moment passed in an instant as sound reached her ears once again. The uproarious cheering of the crowd returned, an unneeded reminder for the girl racing her heart out.

Suzuka pulled forward through the water, her arms stroking at a rapid pace as she accelerated after the turn, her entire body feeling heavy as she pushed herself through the last lap. She couldn't tell where the other swimmers were, not daring to look knowing full well that any break in her motions could cost her, but the sounds closing in from the lanes beside her told her that it would be close finish. Trying to reach down for a little more speed, she strained as her pace raised, the burn in her arms in legs becoming almost unbearable.

'_Almost there,'_ she thought, desperately holding on as she approached the finish. The crowd continued to cheer and egg her on, the yells mingling into a single undistinguishable sound that threatened to overwhelm all other sound. In spite of that, though, a single voice still managed to cut through the din, the words clearly and distinctly reaching the girl's ears.

"Go Suzuka! You can do it!"

Even with the tension and pressure bearing down on her, and the absolute exhaustion that she was starting to feel, Suzuka couldn't help but smile at the unmistakeable voice. With a final burst of effort she pushed through the last few meters, the palm of her hand landing solidly against the finish.

**Life goes on**

Chapter 3

"Hey, you okay there?"

Suzuka started as the voice snapped her out from her daydream, and she quickly realized that she'd been standing in front of her unopened locker for several minutes, wearing nothing but a towel. She looked from side to side, finding that most of the swim team had already left, save for the one girl who had stayed back to check on her.

"Sorry Hasegawa-senpai, I got a little lost in thought," she said apologetically.

"You've been dazing out a lot in the last week. Something up?" the older girl asked, slightly concerned.

"It's nothing, really," Suzuka assured her, "I've just had something on my mind, that's all."

"If you say so," came the reply, but the third year didn't look completely convinced, "I hope it's not guy problems. The last thing we need is our star to fall apart because of a break up."

"It's nothing like that," Suzuka said levelly, with a hint of a smile. Hasegawa looked a bit disappointed, like she'd been hoping for a much more dramatic reaction from the purple-haired girl, but Suzuka didn't seem bothered in the slightest as she opened her locker and pulled out her clothes.

"Well, see you next week then," the senpai said with a shrug, turning to leave, "By the way, your friends are waiting for you outside."

With a small wave, Suzuka finally hurried to get dressed, making up for the time she'd wasted earlier. A few minutes later she was set, stepped out of the change room – and immediately found herself pulled into a tight hug with a face full of blonde hair. Breaking into a smile at her best friend's enthusiasm, she accepted the embrace and waited 'til she could move again.

"You were awesome out there Suzuka! I can't believe how fast you were; no one was even close to you!" Arisa bubbled out, so excited about the win that it was hard to tell which one of the girls had been competing.

"It was just a qualifying race, they probably weren't doing their best," Suzuka said modestly. She was grinning, though, as the fact that she'd won finally settled in. Somehow it never really felt like a victory until she'd gotten the congratulations from her friends; Arisa's overenthusiastic ones in particular. A hand patted her on the head, and Suzuka looked over in time to see a wink from a certain redheaded senpai.

"Hey, no need to be shy now. You really wiped the floor with them," Reika said, beaming. Takumi was standing close by with a wide smile, silent but still happy for Suzuka, which she understood well enough.

"Okay, enough with the love-love," the redhead said, "We're all free, it's Friday, and Suzuka just won her big race; we're going out to celebrate!"

"You just want to get drunk," Arisa said scornfully, finally releasing her best friend.

"I'm insulted; this is purely for dear Suzuka's sake."

"Yeah right, since when did you start thinking about anyone other than yourself?"

Despite her arguing though, Arisa still found herself following after the older girl. Suzuka and Takumi didn't put up any protests, both laughing as they walked closely behind the two.

* * *

"Urgh, remind me to kill myself next time Arisa tries to sing," Reika said, acting as though she was planning to remove her own ears. The four had just left a karaoke bar, having spent the last hour singing; of course, as they redhead pointed out, their vocal talents had varied to a certain degree.

"I wasn't _that_ bad…was I?" Arisa asked, turning to Takumi and Suzuka for some support.

"No comment," was Takumi's reply, but his telltale smirk gave the blonde her answer.

"I liked your singing," Suzuka said, to which Arisa brightened considerably, "I thought it was very enthusiastic."

The last sentence made the girl slumped down again, thoroughly disheartened, dragging her feet as she walked. "Even Suzuka's against me…"

"Sorry girl, it's official: you suck," Reika said, playfully draping her arm over the depressed girl's shoulders, "Aw, come on, it's not _that_ bad. I'm sure you have plenty of talent elsewhere. No idea what that could be, but you've gotta have something, right?"

"Gee thanks, I feel so much better now," the blonde answered sarcastically.

The group continued down the street, keeping up a constant stream of chatter and jokes, mostly at Arisa's expense. As they neared the corner, though, they wordlessly split apart, Arisa and Suzuka heading towards their apartment while Takumi and Reika aimed for the nearest train station. It was already late in the evening, and even though it was the weekend coming up the three girls all had work the next day.

"Don't be late tomorrow!" Arisa called over her shoulder at the redhead, "I'm sick of hearing the boss gripe."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll try to be good!" Reika shouted back. Beside her Takumi made a crack, and the older girl playfully punched his arm. The two made one last wave goodbye before walking off, chatting to one another.

"Reika-senpai and Takumi-kun have been getting along well lately, don't you think?" Suzuka observed, though her voice sounded a little distant, like there was something more personal behind the words.

"I dunno. I guess," the blonde replied, noticing the odd tone of voice immediately and looking slightly worried about her best friend. They kept walking for a while, neither saying a word as Suzuka was seemingly lost in thought and zoning out once again, while Arisa fidgeted in irritation, not knowing if she should question her friend's behaviour or not. Finally giving in to her frustration, she broke the silence.

"Hey, earth to Suzuka."

The purple-haired girl jumped slightly, being startled out of a reverie for the second time that day. She gave an apologetic glance to her friend, a bit sheepish for being caught not paying attention.

"Sorry Arisa, were you saying something?"

"Is something bugging you? You've been acting kinda weird for a week now, ever since…uh, well…"

"Since Saitou-san asked me out?" Suzuka answered with a knowing smile. Arisa nodded sharply, looking away in embarrassment at having brought the subject up. Suzuka stayed quiet for a little longer, taking her time before answering the question.

"Arisa, have you ever liked anyone?" she finally said. Arisa immediately turned a deep shade of red, suddenly becoming extremely embarrassed and confused at the same time; she had never been very good at talking about personal feelings.

"N-no," the blonde finally blurted out, not knowing exactly what to make of Suzuka's question, "W-why do you ask?"

"It's just…I've been thinking…about what you and Reika-senpai talked about that night."

Arisa had a puzzled expression on her face as she tried to remember what had been said that night. It slowly dawned on her, though, and her face changed to a look of panic when the conversation came back to her.

"Uh…you heard that?"

"Just a little," Suzuka said, giggling, but her laughter had a hollow feeling to it, "but it's true, isn't it? I haven't had much of a love life, have I?"

"Well…maybe you just, uh, haven't met the right guy…or something…"

"I don't even remember ever having a crush on anyone," Suzuka murmured, looking seriously down as voiced her troubles, "Do you think something's wrong with me?"

Arisa looked awkward as she tried to come up with appropriate responses, not knowing what to say or do. It wasn't very often that she was the one being the crying shoulder, and she was a little lost whenever it happened. Still, seeing Suzuka's face she knew she had to try, at the very least.

"Hey, I'm in the same boat, aren't I?" Arisa said, laughing a little nervously. Trying to put the right words to what she was trying to say, she pressed on, "Look, you're fine, okay? Well…uh, I mean...there's nothing wrong with you, you just haven't had much …err…luck, that's all. And you've got nothing to worry about, really. You're nice, pretty, and everyone gets along with you, so when you finally find someone I'm sure you'll have no troubles getting them to like you. So come on, stopping acting so depressed and cheer up already, would ya?"

By the end of her speech Arisa had broken out of her nervousness and was waving her arms as she tried to get her point across. Seeing her friend trying to hard to make her feel better, Suzuka couldn't help but crack a smile, giggling slightly at her friend's antics; somehow Arisa always managed to make any problem seem completely silly. Seeing that Suzuka had stopped moping for the moment, Arisa wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders and pulled her into a half hug. "And hey, boyfriend or not, I'm still here for you, right?"

With a slight nod, the girl returned the hug, a lot more cheerful than she had been moments ago.

* * *

With a kind smile Suzuka slid the small novel and card back across the desk, where a shy little girl squeaked out a thank you before grabbing both and running off. It was barely past noon, and Suzuka was currently stationed behind the checkout counter at the library, as was usual for her on the weekends. It was the same library that she always used to frequent when she was younger, so it seemed almost natural that she take up a part-time job in such a familiar place – not to mention that it made things simpler when she needed her fix of bedtime reading material.

Although, very recently the romance novels hadn't had nearly the same appeal as before. With a light sigh, the purple-haired girl started to daze out once again. Her talk with Arisa the previous night had made her realize just how needless her fretting had been, but all things considered she still wanted _some_ kind of romance in her life.

"Hey now, don't start with that look again."

Her eyes darting over quickly, Suzuka spotted the familiar bespectacled boy approaching the desk carrying a large stack of books. With a cheerful smile, she waved him over.

"Takumi-kun! What are you doing here?"

"Research paper," the boy replied, placing his books on the desk, "looks like my entire weekend is going to be booked."

"That's a shame," Suzuka said as she started to scan the pile through. She stopped when she reached a particular text though, glancing up as she held up the collection of ancient poetry.

"Ugh, don't remind me," he said, groaning slightly, "not exactly my preference in topics."

The girl laughed, and continued scanning the books through.

"So, I guess you're feeling better then," Takumi said, and Suzuka looked up again in slight curiosity, "we were kinda worried for a bit."

"Was I really that obvious?" she asked, more amused than annoyed, "You're the third person to mention it since yesterday."

"Much as I'd like to claim credit, I'm not that observant. Arisa picked up on it right away, of course. She was getting all flustered and irritated because she thought you were in trouble with something, then she started going around asking your classmates and teammates if anything had happened."

"Really? I didn't even notice," Suzuka murmured out thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Reika and I thought she was overreacting, as usual, but I guess the girl gets the points this time. She can be completely clueless sometimes, but when it comes to you she always seems to have her head in the right place."

"I must be giving her so much trouble lately…"

"Don't worry about it too much. That girl would worry no matter what you did," Takumi joked, but to Suzuka those words were fairly close to the mark. Arisa was the kind of person that would go all-out for a friend, someone who was reliable and always there when she was needed the most. There weren't many people who would do the same, and it was that unquestioning loyalty that made Arisa so special.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Takumi suddenly said, a bit awkwardly, cutting into Suzuka's train of thoughts. She nodded, a little curious.

"I've been thinking about you lately – not like _that_," he added abruptly after the girl's eyes widened dramatically, "I meant about you and Arisa. You've been friends for a long time, right?"

"Mhmm," she answered, wondering what he was trying to ask about.

"Well, you've known each other for a while, ever since you were kids. You've basically been joined at the hip for more than a decade. So I guess it makes sense that you understand each other so well…even Arisa, who's usually so dense…"

"Um…" Suzuka started, still not quite understanding.

"Sorry, it's a little awkward trying to actually say this out. It's just, there's this weird vibe I get whenever I see you two, and I never really knew what it was until a few days ago, and even then I'm not sure. So, I guess what I'm asking is…and I really don't mean to pry or anything, but…do you like Arisa?"

"Hmm? Of course I…" her voice started to trail off as she realized the meaning behind the question, and her eyes widened slowly as it started to sink in even deeper.

* * *

_The gentle sunset touched her face, the warm glow of the fading sun illuminating her golden hair,__ framing her beautiful face majestically. Sparkling blue eyes gazed forward fondly, and she leaned in closer, raising her hand to softly caress the silk-like violet locks of the girl before her. Her words were spoken lovingly, in a sweet, passionate whisper._

"_Suzuka, I'll always be here for you."_

_Her lips parted slightly, and she closed the final distance…_

* * *

**A/N: **Shout out to Wanwan from the AS boards for the swimming idea, because imagining characters in bikinis is always win . Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out, life decided to go and rear its ugly head in multiple ways. Hopefully the next chapter will be arrive a lot sooner.


	4. Chapter 4

The door slowly opened, great care taken so that it didn't make a single sound, and with soft tiptoes the girl slipped out from her room, gently and methodically taking each step as though she were balancing on a fragile line. With a glance that lasted longer than intended, the girl stared openly at the closed-off room adjacent to her own, and was cast into confusion once again. Shaking her head violently, she attempted to rid her mind of the tumultuous thoughts, and resumed her creeping down the hallway. It was six in the morning, hours before she would normally wake, but Suzuka found that sleep wasn't nearly as restful as it should have been. The previous evening had been hard enough, when she'd been constantly analyzing her every motion and word, and when she could barely look at her best friend without second-guessing herself. What made everything worse, though, was the dream she'd had that morning, the one that she'd woken to with a cold sweat and a racing heart – the one that confirmed her conflicted feelings. Too scared to even confront her emotions, too scared to face Arisa, she ran. Taking only a few minutes to write a quick note, Suzuka slipped out through the front door.

**Life goes on  
**Chapter 4

"I think I did something bad…"

"So what else is new?"

"I mean something _really_ bad."

It was just past one in the afternoon, the lunchtime rush had just died down, and Reika and Arisa were both slumped down by the restaurant's bar taking well deserved breaks, dead tired after running from table to table for the last two hours. The redhead looked like she was trying to get some much needed shut-eye, with her head buried in her arms on the counter. Arisa, on the other hand, looked like she was on the verge of both panic and serious depression as she repeatedly punched the keys on her cellphone without much success.

"And you think this because…?"

"Suzuka left early this morning, and she left a note saying she was staying at a friend's place. Her cellphone's off too…"

"Pft, that's it? Doesn't mean you screwed up, she could just be…okay, yeah, it probably means you screwed up."

"She wouldn't talk to me last night either…"

The redhead finally popped her head up, looking mildly surprised. "Wait, let me get this straight: Suzuka was avoiding _you_, she woke up _early_ on her _own_, and left because she was _mad at you_?"

She spun around on her stool, looking back and forth out the restaurant windows as if she was searching for something.

"What the heck are you doing?" Arisa asked, thinking that she probably didn't want to know.

"Looking for the fire and brimstone that's supposed to be raining down."

Reika burst into laughter at Arisa's angry expression, and in another few seconds the blonde would probably have started throwing heavy objects if it weren't for the interruption of a loud cellphone ring. Automatically Arisa's eyes shot down to the device in her hand, but she was greatly disappointed when she realized the call wasn't for her. Reika, on the other hand, took a much more leisurely pace at answering her own phone.

"Yo!...Hey, Takumi, what's up?...Arisa? Yeah, she's here, you want to talk to…Suzuka? No, Arisa said she……She did what?...YOU SAID WHAT?!"

The redhead nearly fell out of her seat as she listened through the phone, her eyes widening rapidly in surprise as Takumi started explaining on the other side. She cast repeated glances over at the blonde beside her, who was now trying to edge close enough to listen, having heard Suzuka's name. Scooting away to a safe distance, she started to talk in a low, irritated tone.

"Are you an idiot?! You can't just go and say _that_…...You bet your ass you're getting over here!"

Angrily she snapped her phone shut and then immediately slammed her forehead down into the counter in frustration.

"What was that about?" Arisa demanded, with an expression that said she wouldn't accept anything but a straight answer.

Reika slowly turned her head towards the blonde, a slight twitch in the corner of her eye. The last thing she wanted to do now was speak with Arisa, but that seemed a little impossible to avoid.

"So…funny story…"

* * *

"Sorry to intrude on you like this, Hasegawa-senpai."

"It's nothing, really. Anything to help out a friend in need, right?"

It was close to four in the afternoon already, and Suzuka had just gotten off of work, though in truth she wasn't sure how much work she'd actually done that day. Not sure where to go, just knowing that she didn't want to go back to the apartment, she'd impulsively called up her swimming senpai and asked if she could stay over for the night. Hasegawa had been a little taken aback by the sudden request, of course, but had agreed without too much hesitation. So, after some quick directions and a half-hour wait, Suzuka had arrived at the doorstep with only the clothes on her back and a seriously troubled expression on her face. The older girl had quickly let her into the house, leading her to the living room where they were currently sitting, facing one another. Suzuka seemed distracted, and would fidget occasionally, while Hasegawa seemed to be feeling awkward, to say the least, not knowing how far she should pry. It wasn't like they were that close, other than being on the swim team together.

"Your parents won't mind if I stay here?" Suzuka asked suddenly, as she tried to pull herself back into the present.

"They're out of town for the weekend. Anniversary or something, I have a tough time keeping track," Hasegawa answered, fiddling with her dark brown bangs as she wondered what was going on.

"That's nice," Suzuka said, a little absentmindedly.

"I think I'll go make some tea," Hasegawa said as she tried to figure out how she was going to play therapist. Suzuka didn't seem to be listening, nor did she notice when the older girl stood and walked off to the kitchen.

When Hasegawa finally came back a good fifteen minutes later, Suzuka looked exactly as she had been when she'd left, still troubled and fidgety. Sighing, the brunette placed both cups onto the table, sliding one in front of the dreary looking girl.

"Careful, it's still ho -" she hadn't even finished her warning when Suzuka picked up the cup, drinking nearly a quarter of the piping hot liquid without even batting an eyelash. The brunette could only stare with her mouth hanging open. "Okay, that was just plain creepy."

The purple-haired girl turned her head a little, like she had only just realized that her senpai was in the same room. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"Yeah, enough's enough already. I can't stand this psychotherapy crap, and something obviously got your head tied up in knots, so spill already."

"It's nothing…" Suzuka started, but a glare from the older girl told her that excuses weren't going to work, "Well, it's a little personal."

"Well, keeping it in definitely isn't doing you any good. Besides, considering that you called me up out of the blue, the least you could do is humour me."

Suzuka opened her mouth, but changed her mind; it was still a delicate subject, and she wasn't entirely certain of herself. Hasegawa seemed to sense this as well, as she just sighed and fell backwards so she could lie on the floor, rubbing at her eyes tiredly.

"Look, I'm not going to force it out of you or anything, but – "

"I'm in love with my best friend."

The brunette stopped her movement as the words were processed, and she slowly pushed herself back up.

"Wait…so it _is_ boy problems?"

"Not exactly," Suzuka answered, a tired smile playing onto her lips. Hasegawa thought the situation over, a little relieved that all she had to deal with was a bit of lovesickness.

"So, I guess you got rejected then?"

"No," Suzuka said, morosely staring down at the tea leaves floating in her cup. She giggled slightly, though it sounded like a half sob. "It might be easier if I did. I don't even know if I can bring myself to tell her…"

"Her?" Hasegawa said, raising an eyebrow. She skimmed through her memory, trying to figure out who 'her' was referring to. One particular face came to mind, and the brunette started to laugh. "The loud, blonde girl?"

"Arisa," Suzuka said with a broad smile, finally seeming focused and attentive.

"Interesting choice of love interests," the brunette said. From what she'd seen of the girl, which wasn't much, she was a polar opposite of Suzuka.

"We've known each other since we were little."

"Childhood friends then, guess that makes sense."

"Mmm...Arisa's always been there, looking out for me," Suzuka said. She suddenly started to giggle brightly as she remembered an old memory. "There was this time in middle school…"

* * *

"Are you going to tell me or not?" Arisa demanded, looking more impatient than she'd been in her life – which was really saying a lot. Takumi and Reika were opposite her, all three seated in the corner booth of a fast-food joint. The redhead looked completely exhausted, having spent the last few hours of her shift at the restaurant doing her best to skilfully dodge Arisa's questions. Considering the blonde's persistence, it had turned out to be a task that had nearly driven her insane. With an irritated growl, Reika took a long sip from her drink as she nudged the boy beside her, getting him to talk.

"Look, uh, it's really not a big deal. Suzuka just had some problems that needed taking care of," Takumi tried, though he didn't seem too hopeful.

"Then why didn't she tell _me_ about it?"

'_Because you're the one that she's worrying about, you dolt,'_ Reika thought. She couldn't believe Takumi had gone and blurted the whole deal out like that – he was supposed to be the subtle one here, after all. Sure, it was freaking obvious that the two girls were head over heels in love with each other, despite being completely clueless about it, but he wasn't supposed to just come out and _say_ it.

"Look, Suzuka'll be fine, she just got some junk on her mind," she stated plainly. Arisa looked like she was going to protest again, but the redhead quickly cut her off, "I know it's hard for you to accept, but she's a big girl now. I know you like being her knight in shining armour, but she can take care of herself."

Arisa looked completely indignant. "What's that supposed to –"

"I mean, face it," Reika continued, cutting the blonde girl off again, "Sooner or later she's gonna go and find herself a nice boyfriend, and then she'll spending a lot less time with us chumps."

The girl was beside herself now, repeatedly trying to get a few words in, but Takumi stepped in this time, clueing in to what the older girl was trying to do.

"You barely see her school as it is; you're in completely different courses, different sides of the campus too. Graduation isn't that far either, and then you two won't even be going to the same place anymore."

Reika took the hand-off again, keeping the pace up.

"And another few years down the road she's gonna have her own life, you know? I mean, it's not like you guys'll be roomies forever. She'll probably be living off in whole different city and then you won't even see each other everyday anymore. I mean, you guys are best friends forever and all that crap, so you'll probably keep in touch, visit every month, have some nice chats, you know, what friends usually do when they grow up."

Arisa was completely flustered now as she tried to deal with everything the two were mercilessly ramming into her head. The best she could do was stammer out a few half sentences.

"What are you – I mean, so what if – that's just –"

"That is all you guys are, right? Just friends?" the redhead finished.

"Of course we're – What's that supposed to – What else would – J-just shut up!" Arisa finally managed to blurt out, and she jumped to her feet, storming out of the building while growling repeatedly under her breath. Reika managed to hold herself back until the blonde was well out of earshot before she finally threw her head back, cackling madly.

"Damn I'm good!" she managed to say between laughs. Takumi couldn't help but chuckle along with her – Arisa's reaction had been fairly priceless.

"Okay, I have to admit, that was impressive," he said, taking a bite from his previously forgotten fries, "of course, Arisa's the only one in the world that would have worked on. So, you think it did the trick?"

The redhead finally managed to settle down, and sprawled herself out onto the table with a sudden weariness. "If it didn't, we're taking those two and locking them in a storage closet together. No way I'm play matchmaker like this again."

They sat for a few more minutes in silence, picking away at their food, before Reika finally spoke again. "You know, you totally owe me. I don't clean up messes for free."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll buy you dinner," Takumi said with a grin.

"Damn straight. And not that cheap crap, you hear me?"

* * *

Hasegawa smiled to herself as she sat watching the evening news. It took a bit, but Suzuka had finally loosened up and stopped worrying herself to death. Of course, once the girl had started on the stories about Arisa, it was like the floodgates had broken wide open. She talked for hours without stopping, and all the brunette did was give a little prod here and there just to keep the girl going. She definitely had it bad, that much was obvious, and at now it looked like she wouldn't be going insane from doubting her feelings anymore, which was definitely a plus. Turning her head slightly so she could listen over her shoulder, Hasegawa heard Suzuka talking softly over the phone.

"Hi, Takumi-kun, it's Suzuka…Yeah, I'm fine…No, really, I'm okay…Is Arisa there?...No, that's fine, just tell her I'm doing alright…Yeah…I'm over at a friends, I'll be staying the night…"

All in all it had been a fairly eventful evening, to say the least, and if even half of the stories she'd heard were true the brunette was pretty sure the whole mess would be cleared up long before the next swim meet. Smiling when she thought about, Hasegawa wondered how it was possible for two people to be so dense for so long.

* * *

Arisa was slumped in the couch and staring up at the ceiling, having somehow made it all the way back to the apartment – _their_ apartment – despite being hit with the mental equivalent of a sledgehammer. Over and over again she ran things through her head, though all that managed to do was get her more and more frustrated each time. What did they know anyway? So what if that was what happened to everyone else, it didn't mean they would turn out like that too – did it? This was Suzuka they were talking about, the girl that had been with her since forever, the one person that had always been by her side, so how could that be lost so easily? Best friends barely scratched the surface of what they had; they were like family, like sisters, like…like…

The more Arisa thought, the clearer everything became. Without a doubt she didn't want Suzuka to slip away from her, and she refused to let that happen. After all, she was…she was important to her.

* * *

**A/N:** To be honest, this story's turning out a lot differently than I had planned when I first started writing it, though I can't say I regret it that much. Sometimes the story just flows out on its own...or maybe I'm just absentminded. I hope that it's the former.

And thank you for all the wonderful comments on my OCs, it really means a lot since creating them has always been something I've had trouble doing. Believe it or not, characters I think up usually end up being far too dominant, so while writing this fic I had to repeatedly remind myself "the OCs are only there to move the story along!". I hope they continue to be enjoyable right to the very end - which seems to be coming very soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Absently chewing at her breakfast, Arisa gave a morose glance to the empty apartment around. She remembered complaining that the small suite was too cramped and unsuited for two people living together, but this morning it felt far more spacious and hollow. This wasn't the first morning that she'd spent alone, waking up, cooking for one, and eating breakfast on her own, so why did she feel so lonely? The reason wasn't that hard to find, really. Considering that her best friend had been avoiding her all weekend and adding in what her friends had said the night before, it wasn't a surprise that she was feeling miserable. Was that really all there was to it, though? With a troubled look down at her plate, the food barely even touched, Arisa realized she didn't have much of an appetite and rose to clear the table. Tossing the rest of her breakfast into the trash and leaving her dishes in the sink, she finally headed to the front door, leaving for her morning classes.

**Life goes on**

Chapter 5

"You look terrible," Takumi observed, watching the blonde girl as she sat with her forehead firmly planted against the tabletop. It was noon already, and Arisa had already spent several hours of the morning sitting through lectures that had sifted in through one ear and out the other. The fact that she'd shown up on time in the right rooms seemed miraculous in itself.

"Unh," was the girl's only reply, not even twitching as she sat slumped over.

"Look, I know we were a little heavy-handed yesterday, but you don't have to take everything we said word for word. All we were trying to do was make a point."

Arisa looked up, resting her chin where her forehead had previously been. Her eyes were squinted, the distinct circles beneath them attesting to her serious lack of sleep. Seeing this, Takumi briefly wondered if everything would turn out if he kept pushing. The last thing he wanted was the girl to self-destruct, and she was definitely a likely candidate to do such a thing. Still, the way things were and the way things were turning out, he doubted that the girl's depression would last, and the least he could do was hurry her recovery along.

"I mean, it's not like we can tell the future. There are plenty of things that could happen down the road."

"It's true though, isn't it?" the moping girl murmured out, "Suzuka's got her own life to live. Am I just being selfish, thinking that things won't change?"

Takumi did a double-take, surprised that something that Arisa had actually said something that sounded so thoughtful. Then again, from the looks of things she'd spent the entire night mulling over such details.

"And what's wrong with that?" the boy asked quietly. Arisa only looked at him in confusion, not understanding the question. "Look, we weren't trying to tell you to sever all ties with Suzuka, or even to stop sticking to her, as unhealthy as your obsessive protectiveness is. You just…need to get your priorities straight. Stop trying to do what you think is best for her, and figure out what it is that _you_ want."

"What are you talking about…" she mumbled, too tired to play guessing games.

"Look, did it bother you when we talked about you two going your separate ways?"

"What do you think?" Arisa answered back grouchily, a fair amount of sarcasm in her voice. Takumi smiled – at least some of her attitude was coming back.

"And does it bother you when Suzuka's avoiding you?"

"Of course it does!"

"Then why don't you do something about?"

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"For starters, try talking to her."

"And say what?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Takumi asked rhetorically, settling back in his chair. "You ask her to stay."

* * *

Suzuka lazily drifted through the water, floating on her back as she stared up at the ceiling. Practise had ended several minutes ago, but she didn't feel like getting out just yet, especially when the water was so calm and undisturbed. It was soothing, like she could pretend time had slowed right down.

"You can't stay in there forever, you know. Someone's going to kick you out eventually."

Peering over to the edge of the pool, the purple haired girl gave a lazy smile to her senpai. She kept on drifting, though, in no rush to leave.

"Hey, you doing okay?" Hasegawa asked.

"I'm fine," Suzuka answered lightly, "Thank you for worrying."

"Well, you make it pretty easy. For the record, next time you've got some serious problems to work out, don't come to me. I'm much more likely to make things worse."

"That's not true, you're an excellent listener," the younger girl replied, finally kicking her feet to push herself to the wall. A towel was handed to her as she pulled herself over the edge, which was accepted gratefully.

"I think that had a lot more to do with your talking. You're just lucky that I'm not a gossip, because you gave me a ton of material," came a light-hearted answer. Suzuka giggled at that as she started to walk to the change rooms. "So, you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I think it's all out of my system now."

"Well that's good, because you've got someone waiting for you."

Looking over her shoulder, Suzuka saw a girl by the doorway to the pool, long blonde hair swaying back and forth as she paced.

"Good luck," Hasegawa said softly before turning to leave.

Changing became a tedious affair as apprehension found its way into Suzuka's mind again. She'd known Arisa would be waiting for her, it was somewhat expected, but it was hard not to wish for a little more time. Her feelings were clear now, without any doubts or fears making her question herself. She was in love her best friend, something she should have realized long ago, and now that she couldn't deny her feelings she would have to face them. Part of her accepted that wholeheartedly – no, that part had known a long time ago – but another part was still trying to hide away, hoping that things would get easier if enough time had passed. But Suzuka knew that wouldn't be right. Waiting would make things simpler, holding back would be safer, but it wouldn't be fair to Arisa or herself. Neither of them were good at hiding their problems from one another, and lying could only lead to more problems between them. No, it had to be the truth, for better or for worse.

And despite all her tentative fears, there was a fair bit of hope that was pushing her forward. As she'd recounted all her childhood memories to her senpai she had realized that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't the only one that had been unclear about her feelings. Finally finished dressing, Suzuka took a deep breath and walked out of the change room.

A briefly exchanged hello was all that was said as the two greeted each other, the first words they'd spoken to one another for almost two days. The trip home was awkwardly silent, Arisa too tired and clumsy to think of the right words to say, and Suzuka too nervous to broach her emotions in public. It wasn't until they'd arrived back at their apartment that the blonde girl spoke, lamely attempting a normal conversation.

"So…how's your friend?"

Suzuka was confused for a moment, until she remembered that she'd vanished for an entire day with only a flimsy excuse as an explanation. "She's…um…doing fine."

"Well…that's good," Arisa said weakly. Finally noticing the unusually lethargic attitude, Suzuka took a good look at the other girl for the first time that afternoon. The blonde had slumped down into a chair, and was staring at the ground, the dark rings beneath her eyes still very pronounced. Guilty that she hadn't noticed earlier, Suzuka realized she hadn't been the only one that had been troubled that weekend.

"Arisa…are you okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine…" was the immediate and unconvincing response. Arisa glanced up, making eye contact with the other girl, who was staring at her expectantly. "Well…I was just worried, that's all."

"About…what?"

"Something stupid, nothing important," the blonde denied, but kept talking anyway. "It's just…you didn't tell me anything, so I assumed something was wrong. And then I thought that I'd done something wrong, and you were mad at me, so then I was trying to figure out what it was that I'd done, which I guess was pretty stupid, since you'd probably just tell me what the problem was..."

"Arisa…" Suzuka tried to cut in, but Arisa had already moved into frantic overreaction mode.

"…I guess it was really selfish of me to keep thinking that it had anything to do with me, because it probably didn't, and I know you can take care of your own problems, so I shouldn't have been worrying in the first place…"

The blonde had her hands balled up in her hair now as she let out her frustrations. Suzuka tried to interrupt again, but failed. She was having enough trouble trying to process the rapid words, but as far as she could understand Arisa had spent the entire weekend worrying herself to death over her. The thought of it made her a little sad, yet hopeful in another way. Gently she moved to approach the girl, wishing to calm her down.

"…then Reika and Taku went and said something really stupid, which went and made things worse, so then I started worrying about even stupider things, like how you're going to go off to some other city and leave me behind, which is even more selfish…"

Arisa suddenly found her rambling cut short, needing several seconds to realize that her lips weren't working properly. It took a few more moments to understand why. Somewhere in between her run-on speech Suzuka had moved in closer, and in a surprisingly bold move had pressed her lips firmly against her own, stealing a sudden kiss. Arisa's mind slowed as she tried to wrap her head around the situation, all the while aware that her best friend's soft lips were locked with hers. Before she could even begin to come to terms with anything, though, Suzuka broke the kiss, keeping her face only inches away.

The action hadn't been planned, it just…happened. She certainly hadn't planned on confessing in such a spontaneous and daring way, but it had certainly gotten her feelings out in the open. Suzuka giggled, her heart feeling light and her head giddy. Speaking softly, she said the words that she had intended to before.

"Thanks for caring…but I don't plan on going anywhere."

Arisa could only blink and wordlessly open her mouth, her shock and surprise still not quite faded. As her thoughts caught up to her, though, a warm blush began to spread as she started to understand.

* * *

"They're late."

"Cut them slack. It's not like they've had it easy the last few days."

"They sounded just fine when we called them, didn't they?"

Takumi and Reika were standing at the train station, awaiting the arrival of the two girls that had them running through hoops all weekend. It had been Suzuka that answered their call, and she could barely contain herself, laughing almost every time she spoke. It was definitely a promising sign, for sure, but right now they were twenty minutes late, and Reika was getting antsy.

"Maybe we should give them another call…"

"They'll get here, just let them be."

"Yeah, but if they're not showing up I don't want to stand around all night."

"They said they'll be here, so they'll be here."

"Must be nice having that kind of blind faith in –"

"Sorry we're late!" a voice called out from the platform.

"About time, we were starting to wor – " Reika stopped short as she turned to look at the arrivals, watching them approach hand in hand. That alone didn't mean all that much, but Suzuka was absolutely glowing, looking like she had enough happiness to last a life time, while Arisa was in a constant deep blush, trying to act like everything was normal, with little success.

"Yes!" the redhead cheered, turning to give the boy beside her a high-five, "Operation Two-Dunces-in-a-Storage-Closet is a success!"

The blonde girl looked like she was conflicted between hiding herself away and giving Reika a thrashing, but instead stood silent, looking extremely irritated and embarrassed at the same time. Suzuka only laughed though, appreciating the humour.

"Alright, so spill," the older girl demanded, "Who confessed?"

Arisa mumbled something under her breath, staring down at her feet, while Suzuka jovially raised her hand into the air.

"Pay up," Takumi said, holding out his hand. Reika gave a disappointed sigh, slapping a bill into the outstretched palm.

"Come _on_ Arisa, all my hard work and you choke at the last second! Next time I'm charging up front."

The blonde glared daggers and grumbled, though she still wasn't able to string out any coherent words. The girl beside her gave an appreciative smile, knowing what Reika and Takumi had both done to help the two of them along.

"Sorry we cause you so much trouble," she said with gratitude.

"Hey, that's what friends are for," the boy answered, grinning back.

"Yeah. Besides, things would be boring if we didn't have you two to keep things lively," the redhead said, before a sly smile formed on her face. "But now that I know you two are officially a couple, being late makes a lot more sense. I know you're an aggressive girl, Arisa, but rounding fourth base already? Show some restraint."

"W-what?! We didn't – I didn't – We haven't - " Arisa finally stammered out, looking like all the blood in her body had rushed up to her face. This time she really did take a swing, which the redhead dodged playfully.

Even through the worst of the teasing though, her left hand never let go of Suzuka's.

* * *

It was bright and early in the morning, the low sun barely peeking through the closed curtains. The soft rustling of the carpet was the only noise made as gentle footsteps were taken across the floor, slowly making their way to the bed. Beneath the heavy covers a girl lay curled up, her figure rising and falling as she breathed deeply. A soft hand carefully swept the strands of purple hair away from the girl's face, before it was placed lightly on her shoulder.

"Hey, Suzuka, wake up," Arisa whispered, gently shaking the sleeping girl. Suzuka only moaned and curled up tighter.

"Come on now, wake up," the blonde said more insistently, shaking with a little more force. For once that did the trick, as Suzuka's slowly looked up in a weak squint. Raising hand to rub her eyes, she gradually lifted herself up, stretching her arms up in a deep yawn.

"I had a nice dream," she said, opening her eyes fully so she could look at the girl in front of her.

"Another cheesy scene from your novels?" Arisa joked, handing over a clean blouse and a long skirt. Suzuka took them gratefully, but didn't get up from her seat.

"Sort of…but not quite," she answered. Arisa looked puzzled, but Suzuka didn't say anything more, only giving a content smile as she looked at her girlfriend, thinking about the life they shared. Even as their troubles came and went, and their feelings and their relationship changed, and no matter what they would face in the future, they were always there for each other, and always would be.

Life goes on.

* * *

**A/N:** Wow, did I ever have a tough time writing this chapter. Almost every part was hard in one way or another, but I made it, I finished, and I think I'm satisfied. And now that it's all done, and the story's come to a close, I think I can look back and say I enjoyed the whole thing. It wasn't quite what I had planned at the start, and it's a lot shorter than I had intended, but overall I'm happy with it. I hope you are too :D.


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